PETALING JAYA: With Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik resuming their partnership after the Asian Games, men’s doubles shuttler Aaron Tai will have a short window to savour his partnership with Wooi Yik.
But no matter how fleeting their temporary partnership is, Tai is treating it as a valuable learning experience as he and Wooi Yik get set for action at the China Masters starting in Shenzhen today.
The 19-year-old Tai had previously been paired with his namesake and Wooi Yik’s usual partner, as part of Badminton Association of Malaysia’s (BAM) scratch pair initiative to rejuvenate the national players.
“It doesn’t matter if the partnership is for a short period only, it’s still a great learning opportunity,” said Tai.
For him, it is a privilege to be given the opportunity to partner both the players who made history as Malaysia’s first-ever world champions in 2022.
“Partnering Aaron (Chia) before and now Wooi Yik, is something for me to treasure.
“It’s a rare opportunity and I’m doing my best to follow their lead. He (Wooi Yik) is a world champion as well.
“I’m sure there’s a lot I can absorb from him even if the time is limited.’’
Chia-Tai played a total of three Opens together in China, Taipei and Korea, with their best finish in Taipei where they emerged runners-up.
However, the two Aarons were no where near the seasoned combo of Chia-Wooi Yik, who reunited at the recently concluded World Championships in New Delhi and narrowly missed their second title, losing in the final to China’s Liang Weikeng-Wang Chang.
Following this performance, Chia-Wooi Yik have been granted permission to resume their partnership after the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games from Sept 19-Oct 4, with the pair expected to remain together until the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.
Tai expressed his admiration for Chia-Wooi Yik’s performances, having watched their matches in India while competing in the Malaysia Games (Sukma) where he secured the mixed doubles title for Melaka alongside his partner, Noraqilah Maisarah Ramdan.
The Sukma triumph puts Tai in good form as he and Wooi Yik will take on Japan’s world No. 49 pairing of Hiroki Okamura-Kyohei Yamashita in the first round.
